QUINCY, ILL. -- Sunday wrapped up another year of Dogwood festivities.
Washington Park was packed with amusement rides, food and karate.The YMCA's Martial Arts Club performed a demonstration, including new moves from Japan. Two of its members just returned from overseas after a ten-day trip to get their black belts.
John Wellman and Gabriel Forrester underwent intense training during their visit. They said teaching other members from the Martial Arts Club their new skills was priority number one.
"The first thing we did when we came back was to make sure that all the little details that we've been missing, by not being close to some of the other dojos and schools, has been revived and brought back to our dojo so everyone is on the same page, following the same protocols," said Forrester.
"That was our biggest goal to return with as much knowledge as we could," said Wellman.
From Washington Park to State Street, Dogwood activities continued with a history of Adams County's oldest unsolved murder case.
Author Beth Lane held a book signing Sunday at the Historical Society of Adams County. Lane wrote the book, "Lies Told Under Oath," which retells the story of the brutal killing of a prosperous Illinois farm family during 1912. She gave insight to a crowd about how her book provides a historical account of the murder, the trial and its aftermath.
Down the street from the Historical Society, residents were checking out historical homes. The Quincy Preserves sponsored its Spring Homes Tour, an inside look to six historical houses. The homes were located on East Avenue, 18th, York and Maine Streets. Visitors paid $10 to walk through each home. Inside each house were tour guides that gave a brief history of the home. Some of the structures date back to 1876 and originally cost $15,000 to build. The Quincy Preserves holds another architectural tour, Behind the Closed Doors, in October.
If participants on the Spring Homes Tour got a little hungry, they knew which house could help satisfy their taste buds.
The Women's City Club held a "Pies on the Porch" fundraiser at the Lorenzo Bull House. The club sold slices of pie for $5. The money will go toward improving the Bull house. In 1932, the home was close to being sold for a development complex, but a group of Quincy women raised $10,000 to save it from construction.
The house is now owned by the city and maintained by the Women's City Club, an outgrowth of the original group of women who saved the home. This is the first year the club held "Pies on the Porch."
"Just anything will help," said Diana Brown, Women's City Club president. "Any money that comes in can be readily used for something or some repair."
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